Teen Mom 2: "Too Much, Too Fast"

This week's episode of "Teen Mom 2" focused mainly on the girls' struggle to live a normal teenage existence in the midst of abnormal teenage circumstances. Whether they dealt with school issues, money problems or daddy woes, Leah, Kailyn, Jenelle and Chelsea realized that balancing motherhood and pretty much anything else is going to be difficult. As Leah's mom would say, "Sorry about your luck, honey. You're a mom." Here are my thoughts on "Too Much, Too Fast."

The Good:

• Kieffer. No, it's not opposite day and you haven't entered a parallel universe. If I judge Kieffer solely upon the way he acted this episode and not what I know from extraneous sources about his shady ways, I can actually be pretty impressed with the guy. Okay, he uses cliches ("Yesterday is history and the future is a mystery...") and doesn't have the most eloquent way of speaking ("Your mom is a douche"), but Kieffer was right on the money more than once this week. He even pointed out to Jenelle that she brings a lot of the drama upon herself. Now if only he would get a job and stop keeping Jenelle out past her bedtime.

• Megan. I wouldn't be surprised if Aubree started calling Megan "Dada," what with the amount of time Megan watches her while Chelsea is too busy staring at Adam's tattoos. Though she could do a little more to help her pal stay motivated when it comes to finishing high school, I think Megan has Chelsea's best interest at heart in regard to the Adam situation. When it comes down to it, men may come and go, but a good girlfriend is one in a million. Do you hear that, Chelsea?

The Bad:

• The Teen Dads. From Jace's nonexistent father to Jo's irrational decisions to Adam and Corey who couldn't change the diaper on a squirmy baby if their lives depended on it, the dads were not looking good this week. First Jo can't hold his tongue, so he gets himself (and, presumably, Kailyn) kicked out of his house. Then he takes his son across state lines and expects Kailyn to drop everything to follow him. Luckily Kailyn's levelheadedness was there to put the brakes on Jo's train of thought. As for Adam, he can't even dress himself, so it's no surprise that he has a hard time diapering Aubree, but I was taken aback by Corey's lack of domesticity. I think his ineptness stemmed from a lack of confidence rather than a lack of skill, but he really needs to step it up in the daddy department. Being a dad is more than helping Leah "on some occasions when she's really tired." I have no doubt that Corey can and will get better at being Mr. Mom, as long as he doesn't break down in tears first. Honestly, have you ever seen a guy cry so much?

The Ugly:

• Barbara & Jenelle. When Barbara's not doling out helpful advice like, "Shut the toilet so the baby doesn't drown," she's yelling at Jenelle. She can't be bothered by crazy talk of 1040s and financial aid because she's too busy anticipating what Jenelle will do wrong next so she can yell at her for it. Granted, there are a lot of times that Jenelle deserves a good talking-to (when she sleeps in on the only day she's supposed to watch her baby, for one), but I can see that there are two sides to this very dysfunctional relationship. The hard part about watching these types of shows is seeing stories like this, when two people would be better served by serious therapy rather than being followed around by cameras all day (and a 15-minute televised interview with Dr. Drew does not count as serious therapy). Jenelle and Barbara clearly have a long history of mistrust and broken lines of communication. I can only hope, for Jace's sake, that someone will intervene and give them the help they so desperately need.
  
• Chelsea. If Leah & Corey are the Catelynn & Tyler of this season, Chelsea has definitely taken on the role of spoiled, out-of-touch-with-reality mom Farrah. It's partially Randy's fault for allowing his darling daughter to live on her own without having to earn her keep, but Chelsea gets harder and harder to watch every week. They say teenagers' brains can't fully process risk and aren't done developing until age 25, so maybe there's still hope for Chelsea in the long run, but in the meantime, she's going to have to overcome a whole lot of flawed logic in order to get her act together. For starters, instead of "spreading out the disappointment," why not avoid doing things that you know will cause disappointment in the first place? Also, "Becoming a Dad" checklists should include things like, "Learn the words to 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star'" and "Check the temperature of milk on your wrist before giving it to the baby." If you have to tell your baby daddy (in all capital letters, with multiple exclamation points) to treat you like a decent human being, he may not be the ideal candidate for a third roommate.

Do you think the girls were taking on too much, too fast this week? Leave your comments below.